Claims of diplomatic immunity were once matters of great rarity but nowadays were as common as sparrows in the loft, Judge Liam Devally said in the Dublin Circuit Civil Court yesterday. Judge Devally said that when the tradition of granting diplomatic immunity was embodied in law, international diplomatic missions were small and their members extremely prudent.
"I think the world has changed a great deal since then." He added: "I think it is a very draconian experience for somebody who has suffered a perceived wrong to come up against a wall of diplomatic immunity."
Judge Devally had been asked to hear an appeal from the Employment Appeals Tribunal which held it had no jurisdiction, because of diplomatic immunity, to hear a claim of alleged constructive dismissal by a former porter at Instituto Cervantes, the former Spanish cultural institute.
Mr Nicholas Caffrey, of Newgrove Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin, had brought the action against Instituto Cervantes, Northumberland Road, Dublin, under the Unfair Dismissals Acts.
The tribunal had received a certificate under the seal of the Spanish ambassador stating that Instituto Cervantes was part of the Spanish embassy and enjoyed immunity from jurisdiction.
The Department of Foreign Affairs had confirmed the instituto was entitled to such immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Mr Ercus Stewart SC, for Instituto Cervantes, told Judge Devally that because the issue of immunity was still alive, he had been instructed to appear as a courtesy to the court. There was no obligation on the embassy or the institute to attend.
Mr Roddy Horan, for Mr Caffrey, said the question of diplomatic immunity was disputed and his client claimed that the instituto was an ordinary commercial enterprise.
Judge Devally said he had a particular view on claims of diplomatic immunity, which were once matters of great rarity but nowadays were as common as sparrows in the loft.
He told Mr Stewart his client's contention of diplomatic immunity would have to be supported by a viva voce claim for such privilege by a first secretary at the Spanish embassy and backed by confirmation from the head of protocol at the Department of Foreign Affairs that such immunity existed.
Following several hours of talks, Mr Horan told the court the matter had been resolved and asked Judge Devally to strike out his client's appeal.